Officials reported Sunday the first death tied to Hurricane Delta in Louisiana.
An 86-year-old man died in a fire that was ignited by the refueling of a generator, Democratic Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said, according to the New York Post. The man was attempting to refuel the generator while it was still hot.
Edwards confirms the first Delta-related death, an 86-year-old St. Martin Parish man who died trying to refuel a generator while it was still hot, causing a fire. #lalege #lagov
— Sam Karlin (@samkarlin) October 11, 2020
Edwards issued a series of reminders of how to handle generators on Twitter following the news.
I want to remind everyone to handle generators with extreme caution. Keep it outside, 20 feet away from the house and away from any openings. Please make sure that it is completely cooled off before you refuel and kept dry. Please be safe. #lagov #Delta #HurricaneDelta pic.twitter.com/R8EK52YHru
— John Bel Edwards (@LouisianaGov) October 12, 2020
“I want to remind everyone to handle generators with extreme caution,” Edwards tweeted. “Keep it outside, 20 feet away from the house and away from any openings. Please make sure that it is completely cooled off before you refuel and kept dry. Please be safe.” (RELATED: ‘Significant Risk’: Hurricane Delta Reaches Category 4, Heading For Louisiana)
Hurricane Delta hit Louisiana Friday as a category two storm. The storm was labeled a post-tropical cyclone by Sunday as it headed up through the Appalachian Mountains, according to the outlet.
600,000 homes were without power after Delta hit Friday, but by Sunday half of those customers had restored power, NYPost reported.
Delta hit parts of Louisiana that had just been devastated by Hurricane Laura in August. Hurricane Laura made landfall on the border of Texas and Louisiana as a category four storm.